A formal writeup will be forthcoming at some point in DAP, but here’s a tip on 24mm lenses for the Nikon D3x, with a caveat: this was not a full-blown lens test, I tested at two distances (infinity and about 2 meters), enough to satisfy myself that I was seeing consistent performance.

At 24mm, I tested the Nikon 14-24/2.8G, the Nikon 24-70/2.8G, the Nikon 24/2 AI-S, and two samples of the Nikon PC-E 24/3.5. The clear winner for consistent sharpness across the frame was the Nikon 14-24/2.8G, a lens I’ve felt is the world’s best ultra-wide zoom for some time now. Sharpness/contrast, flat field, color and uniform illumination are outstanding. Even wide open performance is impressive, where I would use it without hesitation, though f/4 is a worthwhile pick-up over f/2.8.

The PC-E 24/3.5 tilt/shift also fared very well, and in fact has more appealing distortion characteristics as the corners are approached. But neither sample could match the 14-24/2.8G for overall performance. The 24/2 and 23-70/2.8G performed well, but with some drawbacks that will be explained in my formal writeup in DAP.